The Interlaken Historical Society looked
at many buildings in and near the village searching for ground floor space
to house both museum display areas, a library area, workroom and
storage space. That space was found in the front portion of the Trumansburg
Telephone Company building at 8394 Main Street. We doubled our display area,
added library space, lots of storage space and an office. The storage area
includes over 2500 cataloged items, and 3,300 photographs and
glass plate negatives. Many of these items are used in rotating displays and
on-going displays about life in the Village of Interlaken and surrounding
areas. The work of remodeling the space took over six months and many
volunteer hours. We opened our new door on Olde Home Day 2008. Click
here to see more about that special day.

Farmers’ Museum

The displays at the Farmers’ Museum
include items from all aspects of 19th century farming. Starting
small with two rooms when the Museum opened in 1991, the Farmers’ Museum now
has four rooms telling the agricultural story.

Collections

Among the thousands of items in our
collection we have historic documents from the late 1790s to the present
day, books, flags, Indian artifacts, early American tools for home and farm,
clothing from many generations, dolls, and military items. Items not on
display are available to aid in research. Shown below are a few of the
Indian Artifacts from the area. This exhibit is used by the local Scouts in
their study of Indian Lore.

Photographs & Index

The collection of over 2,200 photographs
and 1,100 glass plate negatives have
been indexed by topic and description. Topics include agriculture,
buildings, churches, hotels & inns, houses, streets & roads, lake scenes and
pictures of individuals to name a few.

With our new museum space we hope to have
a wall of pictures each year to
bring back memories and share items from these collections. In 2008 the
theme was Celebrations.

Research and Writing

Using materials in our collections, and other sources a
number of articles have appeared in our newsletter over the years. Listed
below are a few that we have also posted to the website.

Also in the category of research
and writing are histories of several local organizations, and these are part
of our website as well.
Grange History, Covert Baptist Church
click on the organization name for a quick link to these picture articles.

Donations

TheMission of the Interlaken
Historical Society is to:

·establish, maintain and
operate museums and a research room for the promotion of local and area
history.

·collect and preserve items
and books of historical, literary and artistic interest to our community

·publish articles,
pamphlets, periodicals and works of historic or literary significance to our
area.

·encourage the use of our
facilities and resources for research.

·promote the dissemination
of historical information through modern technology.

·carry on activities usually
associated with a historical society, particularly relating to the history
of southern Seneca County and the community of Interlaken.

In order to carry out that Mission, the
Interlaken Historical Society needs your help. Do you have pictures of
places, events and the people of Covert, Interlaken and southern Seneca
County? Do you have memorabilia of events, or pieces of history that you
feel should be stored and displayed in a place where others can appreciate
and learn from them?

When the Historical Society received a
1930 wedding gown, we were allowed to copy this picture of the bride on her
wedding day. Having as much information about a donated piece will make it
easier for us and future generations to interpret the piece more fully.